Earlier this year, Melbourne-based Ben Hazlewood (born in New Zealand, lived in London for a few years – he’s been places) kicked off a series of single releases with ‘Fumes’, the first of five standalone tracks he’s put out this year. No word on a follow-up to 2020’s debut album Bloodlines yet, but that may change before the year is out.
In the meantime, single number 5 surfaces tomorrow, and it’s a sinewy electro-pop bop called ‘Chemical Roulette’, about overdoing drinking for better or worse, or as Hazlewood puts it: “I could argue it was all a highly scientific experiment to create new neurological pathways; to bend and mould my mind into a new way of thinking. Or, call it what it was; a bender of epic degree, one in which I was crushed, then rebuilt, shattered and swept up. I hit the basement floor of pain and the highest heights of happiness. Whatever way I justify this time in my life… Chemical roulette is a game just as dangerous as its Russian counterpart but far more fun, and with this celebratory song of survival as memento of the best parts.”
We’re premiering the video ‘Chemical Roulette’ today and have been told to expect more from Hazlewood this year, so that’s exciting, isn’t it? Give it a spin below:
